Advice From A Peer
by gawilliams
Summary: Sweets, in the face of all the changes in Booth and Brennan's relationship, seeks out some advice.  Companion to Good Advice and A Sympathetic Ear.


_Continuing in the vein of advice, I decided to add one where Sweets tries to figure out why Booth and Brennan are so adamant about not wanting to discuss anything personal, or even partner related, with him. Who does he turn to? Why our favorite chef and therapist, of course! I hope you enjoy this one. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Dr. Lance Sweets was always amazed at the variety of incredibly delicious food that was served at the restaurant of his former peer, Gordon Gordon. He shook his head in amusement at the fact that he was using Booth's moniker for the British born former psychiatrist. Booth had unknowingly affected the young psychiatrist more than the he would ever know. Sweets finished the last of the Raspberry White Chocolate Mousse, groaning at the fact that there was no more. Oh, he could ask for more and get some, but he wanted to avoid having to spend hours and hours in the gym burning off the effects of decadent foods.

"And how was the dessert, my Dear Lance?" Gordon Gordon smiled as he came over to the chefs table and made note that Lance had practically licked the plate clean, to use a rather crude turn of phrase.

"Awesome!" Sweets said, smiling widely.

"So, now that you have unburdened your soul as to your lackluster love life, and the dull existence at home, what has brought you to my table this evening, despite the ignored fact that I am indeed retired from my former profession?" Gordon Gordon inquired. He took a seat and poured them each a snifter of 75 year old Louis XIV Brandy. Quite a spendy drink, at over $150 a snifter in the bar of his restaurant, but good liqueur after a wonderful meal was essential to the gourmet dining experience.

Sweets took a sip of the brandy, totally blown away at how smooth it was. He wasn't going to ask what something like this cost as he wanted to avoid having a stroke or heart attack, but it was totally awesome.

"Booth and Brennan are now in a committed relationship, and are even looking into buying a house," Sweets explained. "But every time I try and offer to be a sounding board to any troubles that may come up, they refuse. I want to help my friends, but they won't let me."

Gordon Gordon took a brief sip of the superb brandy and swirled the remainder in the bottom of the snifter. "It's hardly surprising considering all that has transpired, wouldn't you agree?" he asked.

"But I've apologized!" Sweets said firmly.

"Oh, I'm sure you have," Gordon Gordon assured his young friend. "But think of whom you are talking about. One a man with deep passions, and a love of one woman who he very nearly lost for good because of your misguided, though well intentioned, advice. The other a woman who has always had a very deep seated disdain for the field of psychology, and then have her heart thrown into a whirlwind because of advice from a psychologist."

"I was only trying to help," Sweets said with just a touch of petulance. His own life hadn't been the greatest lately with daisy leaving once and for all for her career. This was all just the icing on the cake.

"And everyone knows that," Gordon Gordon told him. "But the pain that both of them suffered due to that help, even if it was by their own choices, runs deep. Time is a very interesting element in almost everything we do, or accomplish, Dr. Sweets. Just like this brandy we are enjoying."

Sweets shook his head, a little confused. "Huh?" he said lamely.

"This brandy," Gordon Gordon help up his snifter, letting the light capture the deep amber color of the liquid. "It was aged seventy-five years before being bottled."

Sweets' eyes widened. "Uh, do I have to pay for the drinks?" he asked, mentally praying for deliverance from such a fate. The brandy must cost a fortune!

"You are my guest, Lance," Gordon Gordon told him. "What kind of a host would I be if I insisted on you paying for our repast, and at my Chef's Table in my restaurant? Not a very good one, I imagine, and such a reputation would not do well for me in this little pursuit of mine."

"Thank God," Sweets breathed a sigh of relief. "Now what was this about aged brandy?"

"It was a metaphor, Lance," Gordon Gordon sighed. "You of the younger generation need to do more in the way of literary study to understand the basics of intelligent conversation. Try some Shakespeare on your free time. It would do you a world of good."

"Shakespeare, right," Sweets mumbled. He'd been abysmal in literature when he was an undergraduate, and he doubted he would appreciate Shakespeare now that he was older, and hopefully, wiser. "Getting to the point, Dr. Wyatt?" he prodded.

"Yes, yes, so impatient is the temperament of youth," Gordon Gordon said aloud. "It's rather simple, actually. When we make the brandy, it is strong, biting, and has enough of an edge as to make it very unpalatable. But you give it time, and it mellows, taking away some of the rough edges, and the bite becomes more of an effect that a feel. Age it further, say a number of years, and you get a finished product that could easily be sipped as a fine wine would at dinner, but is superb for an after dinner aperitif."

"And this helps me how?" Sweets asked, wondering if maybe he should sign up for some basic literature courses so he could learn to understand Gordon Gordon better. Maybe even a wine making class and cooking courses, too.

"Pain, particularly emotional pain, is like a young brandy, or other fine liqueur," Gordon Gordon explained. "The emotional pain that both of our friends suffer is much like that, as well. During their time apart, and then during Agent Booth's unfortunate relationship with the reporter he met while in Afghanistan, is still in it's infancy. It's a bit harsh, and has an unbelievable edge to it. Just like our young brandy, or very young Scotch. It will take time for that pain to mellow and become tempered with a smooth edge. When that occurs, I am quite certain that the resulting fine ambrosia of their friendship will be ready to be passed on to you, and they will be willing to include you in their dynamics once more."

"So you're saying good things come to those who wait?" Sweets asked, not looking like he liked that idea. He genuinely liked Booth and Brennan, even considered them the best friends he'd ever had. Being frozen out like he was was painful for him.

"Lacking in the finer attributes of my fine metaphor, but aptly put, Lance," Gordon Gordon nodded approvingly. "The fact is they don't hate you, or even dislike you. But their anger needs an outlet, and a direction. You, unfortunately, are that focus, rightly or wrongly."

"I gave bad advice, yet they chose to follow it," Lance stated. "That boils a source down to me, but it doesn't seem fair."

"The very world we live in isn't fair, Dr. Sweets," Gordon Gordon told him. "If it were, we would not have had the careers we have had."

"You're the past tense, Dr. Wyatt, but I'm still in the game," Sweets said, asserting himself a tiny bit. He'd long felt that the psychiatric world lost someone very special when Dr. Gordon Wyatt retired.

"And doing quite well, Dr. Sweets," Gordon Gordon replied. "Our science, like Dr. Brennan is often apt to point out, is indeed a soft science. There is no magical fix to the problems we assist our patients in dealing with. Failure is a constant possibility, but we persevere. It's what makes such a soft science a credible field of study and endeavor."

"Did you ever have any patients as difficult and contrary as Booth and Brennan?" Sweets asked curiously.

Gordon Gordon chuckled. "When you have a professional career as long as I had, you are bound to come across some rather interesting cases, though I have to admit that Booth and Brennan are indisputably in a class all their own," he replied.

Sweets spent the rest of the evening enjoying listening to Gordon Wyatt discuss some of the more interesting cases (the psychological issues, not discussing the patients themselves, of course) the man had dealt with. The time spent with his older peer was well spent. He felt like he was on more solid ground than before. He also could see that time was indeed the great equalizer, and that it would take time for his friendship with Booth and Brennan to get back to a good level. He was glad he came tonight. The advice of one's peers was beyond value, especially when the peer was one Dr. Gordon Wyatt.

_A/N: I am keeping these conversations short and open ended. The issues involved in Booth and Bones new relationship, and the effects on others, are not going to be dealt with in single conversations. These short one shots are more to showcase how good advice can move the process forward to great benefit. I hope you enjoyed this short time with our two psychologists. Gregg._


End file.
